Time again

In my last blog I was complaining about the monotony of this summer. I started the blog a couple of days ago and posted it Friday but after I started that one things began happening. I enjoyed Tuesday night at Book Club with my favorite foody/booky people. We always start with a tasty potluck. Sometimes we're heavy on salads, sometimes heavy on desserts, sometimes heavy on cheese and dips but this time it was a perfect balance. When we are ready for dessert we begin discussing the book. Sometimes our book discussions are short and we end up discussing something else that is on our minds. Books aren't always the focus of our discussion but we always have an enjoyable evening, no matter what the topic is.
Next, Thursday night, Rebecca and I were the happy recipients of two tickets to see La Traviata at the War Memorial Opera House. Mary had extra tickets and offered them to us. We had planned to go early and do something fun before the opera but by the time we left we only managed to fit in a meal at Max's Opera Cafe (yum on their matzo ball soup) before joining Mary and her husband, Scott, at the Opera House. I haven't been there since they added extra screens. These are for the balcony section so we can see the artists up close and personal. Now, some people might feel that the screens are a distraction but I don't subscribe to that notion. There are several cameras at a number of different spots aimed at the stage and in the orchestra pit. I couldn't see them but they are there somewhere. We got to see the orchestra and conductor up close as they played the overture and then we were able to see the performers from a number of different angles during the performance. I thought it was wonderful. The performers were absolutely stupendous. I loved Anna Netrebko as Violetta. Her voice is magical. And Dwayne Croft as Giorgio Germont, Alfredo's father was magnificent. Alfredo, sung by Charles Castronovo, was also a great performer and not bad to look at. I walked away from La Traviata with a whole new appreciation for opera. I guess I like it better than I thought. This was also easier to sit through than Wagner's works which last for half the night. I guess I'm going to have to look at the S.F. Opera's offerings for next year and get some tickets....!
Next week we are going to see the King Tut exhibit. Maybe staycations aren't so bad......?